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Alabama licensed midwives and consumers will participate in a Lobby Day at the Alabama State House in Montgomery on Wednesday, Feb. 19 to advocate for safer, healthier births for Alabama families.
The Alabama Midwives Alliance urges community members, healthcare professionals, and advocates to support SB87 and HB257 and work together to ensure safe, comprehensive midwifery care for Alabama families.
ALMA strongly supports SB87 and HB257, key legislation aimed at improving out-of-hospital care and ensuring all newborns, regardless of birth location, have access to essential, time-sensitive, health screenings. Since the original passage of the Childbirth Freedom Act in 2017, areas of clarification have been identified to ensure the state’s licensed midwifery law functions as intended and removes unnecessary limitations to families.
“SB87 and HB257 aim to increase the Alabama Board of Midwifery’s continuity, longevity and sustainability,” said Rebekah Myrick, President of ALMA. “These changes will make midwifery care more accessible for Alabama families, especially in rural or poverty stricken areas where care is limited; and ensure no newborn is delayed or blocked behind red tape to receive an essential, time-sensitive, newborn screening. This bill ensures that midwifery care is a viable option for all low-risk families, including those who need it most.”
Contrary to some claims, SB87 and HB25 do not expand midwives’ scope of practice or make midwives de facto pediatricians. ALMA fully supports referring newborns to licensed physicians for care. These bills clarify the existing law “midwife shall order those (screening) tests” and remove restrictions that hinder midwives from serving families effectively, by eliminating confusion and clarifying, “order AND administer.”
“Every newborn deserves access to the same high-quality health screenings, regardless of where they are born,” said Nancy Megginson, ALMA Legislative Committee Chair. “Homebirth families have faced countless red tape, from delays in pediatric scheduling, to refusal of care by licensed physicians, all when the licensed midwife is returning to the client’s home at 24-48 hours post birth anyway.”
The bills reinforce the importance of universal newborn screening, ensuring that babies born under midwifery care receive the same health screenings, without delay, as those born in hospitals. Early screening is a tool, collected by a “well-trained person,” and helps identify treatable conditions for timely intervention by a licensed physician. The physician is needed for the intervention, after collection and results.
“ALMA respectfully asks that this bill be brought up in each Health Committee for discussion and advanced to the floor for a vote by both chambers,” said Myrick.
